DAVID Wallings is a lucky man. The 47-year-old suffered a stroke last January while doing the washing up.

Had he suffered the same stroke just ten years ago he would not be alive to tell his remarkable tale.

While suffering no pain, David felt numbness down his right side while at home alone in Central Avenue, Southend.

After initially ignoring the sensation, it quickly spread down his right arm and leg and he realised something was seriously wrong.

He managed to contact his wife at work. Although he had already lost the ability to speak coherently, she realised what was wrong and called an ambulance.

David had suffered a spontaneous carotid artery dissection, which sent a blood clot straight to his brain. Ten years ago, that would have been a death sentence.

However, now, thanks to the speedy treatment and advanced stroke facilities available at Southend Hospital, just 20 months later you would not be able to tell David came so close to death. He said: “I want everyone to have the access to the treatment that I did at the hospital.

“I ignored the feeling to start with, just thinking I had stood funny, or something like that.

But it soon spread and because I was on my own, I nearly didn’t make it.

“Fortunately, I recognised a picture of my wife on my phone, could tap it to call her and she rang for help. I would advise anyone to call for help as soon as they feel something. You can worry about feeling silly, or it being a false alarm, later. That time might save your life.”

David was treated with a trial clot-busting thrombolytic drug that broke down the mass of blood cells and resulted in an almost full recovery.

He was out of hospital after two weeks and back selling guitar strings at Strings Direct, in Rochford, after four months.

Now back playing guitar in a band, David admits he questioned if his passion for the instrument was over, but playing actually helped him recover.

He said: “I did think is this the end for guitars? But I asked if I could have one in the ward and it was great.

“The care I received in hospital was amazing. The physio and physchological treatment I have received since leaving has also been brilliant.”

He still has some numbness in his right hand and face, but thanks to advanced research and stroke treatment, David now lives a normal life. He said: “I have to be careful picking up a hot cup. I’m not as sensitive to temperature and have a little numbness in my face but it’s not uncomfortable and I’ve got used to it.”

Southend Hospital’s £1m bid to upgrade its stroke centre is under way.

The stroke ward and an acute stroke unit are to benefit from a cash injection by the hospital to kick-start a hyper-acute stroke unit, which it is hoped will one day serve the whole of south Essex.

The present service is already one of the best in the country and is often the subject of research projects, but once enlarged to include another ward, it will have the capability of London stroke units.

The centre will provide life-saving and life-changing treatment in the first 72 hours of a stroke .

It would give patients immediate access to leading specialists round-the-clock. A recruitment programme to staff the new ward is about to begin.

Dr Paul Guyler, the hospital’s lead consultant for stroke, said: “We are putting the final touches to the recruitment campaign.

“The board of trustees have made a large amount available to recruit more nurses and therapists.

We are looking at 35 staff of all different grades and areas.’’

The hospital’s current stroke unit comprises 14 acute beds on Benfleet ward and 26 stroke/neuro-rehabilitation beds on Paglesham ward.

It offers a 24-hour thrombolysing, or clot-busting service, and a brain scan within the first 24 hours of the stroke. Stroke symptoms can include: 

* Paralysis or weakness of one side of the body 

* Dysarthria – speech muscles impaired, causing slurring ! Dysphagia – the swallowing muscles impaired 

* Double vision, decreased vision ! Sensory impairment – absent or diminished response to touch, pain, pressure 

* Dysphasia – difficulty in expression and/or comprehension #

* Intellectual impairment – memory loss, poor judgement or reasoning

The team also provides a stroke rehabilitation service and a mini-stroke clinic. Situated on the Prittlewell building’s ground floor, the clinic runs Monday to Friday and aims to reduce risk factors, as mini-strokes often precede full-blown strokes.